Awaiting Armageddon: How Americans Faced the Cuban Missile Crisis

by Alice L. George

For thirteen days in October 1962, America stood at the brink of nuclear war. Nikita Khrushchev's decision to place nuclear missiles in Cuba and John F. Kennedy's defiant response introduced the possibility of unprecedented cataclysm. The immediate threat of destruction entered America's classrooms and its living rooms. Awaiting Armageddon provides the first in-depth look at this crisis as it roiled outside of government offices, where ordinary Americans realized their government was unprepared to protect either itself or its citizens from the dangers of nuclear war.

During the seven days between Kennedy's announcement of a naval blockade and Khrushchev's decision to withdraw Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba, U.S. citizens absorbed the nightmare scenario unfolding on their television sets. An estimated ten million Americans fled their homes; millions more prepared shelters at home, clearing the shelves of supermarkets and gun stores. Alice George captures the irrationality of the moment as Americans coped with dread and resignation, humor and pathos, terror and ignorance.

In her examination of the public response to the missile crisis, the author reveals cracks in the veneer of American confidence in the early years of the space age and demonstrates how the fears generated by Cold War culture blinded many Americans to the dangers of nuclear war until it was almost too late.

Genres: History

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2003

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid history of a chilling moment and its backdrop. George is particularly sharp in analyzing why "civil defense" amounted to a bad idea poorly executed. At the moment when it looked like it might be needed, it became absolutely clear that the much touted emperor had not a stitch of clothing. Beyond that, the summary of Missile Crisis scholarship is good. I'd hoped for more about the experience of ordinary people under the looming shadow; what there is on that front is fine, but it's definitely far in the background. A specialist's book, but a good one.

[Sheehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book, because I wanted to know how "Americans Faced the Cuban Missile Crisis"; but what I got was how the government faced the crisis, how political parties faced the crisis, and how people polled in their response to the circumstances.

As a lover of oral histories, I was hoping for an examination of how people dealt personally or communally with the crisis, but this book spread the personal to the pragmatic view of under preparation on the part of the government. The Americans' feelings are represented more by polling results, and policy decisions than actual people telling their stories. Discussing how the behavior of political parties' was informed by and tried to capitalize from the crisis was interesting but not congruent with the proposed thesis of what American people were feeling/living in the experience.

To be entirely fair, the book is well written, cogent and concise; but it falters when it attempts to illuminate the experiential aspect of the period. Americans (the people) can not be effectively investigated by academic research of FOA documents and newspaper stories, to get at how the people felt, you would have to get the words of the people. I feel like this needed some good interviews with people who were living in the period, among all of the other background research George did in the Libraries/Archives.

Easier said than done, I understand that, and kudos for approaching the topic, but for my interest, I wanted to hear more about the housewives of soldiers, the newsman (these cats always have tales!) who had to cover the stories, the teachers who had to promote transparently useless civil defense drills, and more of the voices of the kids (represented in polls) sentiments about that crazy time.

Where was Studs Terkel when we needed him?!

[columbialion · Rating 4 out of 5]

True account reporting on the man in the street during the worst nuclear crisis ever..